So I’ve started working on the second issue of 893 Magazine (more about the first issue here). A bit of a delay compared to what I had hoped, but some (good) unexpected things did come up that warranted this… Not in the least winning the Blurb Photography Book Now prize for Editorial… and some other ultra mega cool things that I’ll hopefully be able to tell about very soon. But I’ve started. No turning back. And no matter how excited I am to share new stories and images, the beginning... Read the Rest →
I thought this was worth a mention: for an interview about my 893-Yakuza project, which will appear in the forthcoming January issue of Fotografie, a Dutch photography magazine, The Editor-in-Chief Diana Bokje (@dianabokje) does something special… not only does she print an interview which captures our various conversations very well, but she also reproduces 5 complete spreads directly out of 893 Magazine Issue#1, including original layout and texts. Simply amazing that someone not only recognizes but also acts upon the the link between images, layout, typography and writing in the... Read the Rest →
Members of other families arriving at the funeral of Miyamoto-san (one of the family bosses) to pay their respects. Miyamoto-san died in february 2010, as a result of a stroke.
So we made it. A tremendous collaborative effort between David Alan Harvey, Diego Orlando, Anna-Maria Barry-Jester, all the photographers featured, and yours truly. We created, printed and published our first book over at BURN Magazine, and we named our baby “BURN.01″. Three hundred pages of pure blood, sweat, tears & pride… I’m tremendously proud of the stunning work by all the photographers in there, and the fact that we were able to pull it off. The book is literally flying out the door… We printed a first edition of a... Read the Rest →
This is Soichiro driving me through the streets of Shinjuku, Tokyo, in his third generation 1989 Nissan Skyline GT-R. It’s all white and retro as hell and yes, even though I’m not a car freak, I must admit it’s very cool. I like retro. Click on the image to see a short video of me trying to capture the moment. I never even knew he bought the car, and on the last night that I was there two weeks ago, while my brother and I were walking in Kabukicho debriefing... Read the Rest →
A few months ago, I entered Blurb Photography Book Now without any expectations… And suddenly, 2 weeks ago, I got a call from Eileen from Blurb. At that time I was in Japan for the YAKUZA project, right in the middle of photographing a covert training camp for young recruits. When I explained my potentially slightly precarious situation to her, she understood why I wasn’t able to jump up and scream “Yeah!”…. …but we had a great whispery conversation after that :-) Needless to say, I feel incredibly honored to... Read the Rest →
In February of this year, I got a call from Soichiro for an emergency. One of the most important family bosses, Miyamoto-san, had suffered a fatal stroke. His death was imminent. I pretty much dropped everything, and jumped on the plane to Tokyo. Even though he had kept very much to himself and always remained camera-shy, I had observed, gotten to know, and photographed the man for over 12 months; to see him lying there in that hospital bed, in a coma with no chance of recovery, felt very… human.... Read the Rest →
I thought I’d share three contact sheets. A “succesful” one, a “nope, I’ve not quite got it yet” one, and a sudden “hmm maybe there’s a new angle somewhere in here” one. (the difference in color between individual images is due to the fact that I only post process images that pass “first edit”) Tweet
A long overnight flight home is always a good time for introspection…. (especially in a window seat at the emergency exit, with a full moon outside :-) I feel blessed being able to do the things I am doing… blessed for the health of my family… and blessed that, even though we are literally scattered throughout the world, once every so often, we suddenly appear to be together in one geographical place – simply enjoying being. -anton Tweet
This time round has been extraordinarily difficult in Tokyo. It has been my longest trip to date (a full month), yet a slew of practical things and unforeseen circumstances have made me go home without a single usable image… Yes looking at it this way it seems frustrating… But, oddly enough, in hindsight, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be… concentrating on the stuff that comes after shooting the images, proved to be very fruitful. Oh, and of course this very same situation gave me time... Read the Rest →
I wonder how “wide” a photographer should be playing these days. It seems obvious to me that the time has passed that a photographer is merely required to make a good image. Input has expanded from photography to video, internet, graphic design, writing,… Output has grown from just “a book” to a smart mix of different things that make up a whole experience (book, magazine, video, multimedia, website, gallery, exhibition, …) … and all of it seems to be crucially important. To be able to “widen your output” as a... Read the Rest →
Ever since I started this project over a year ago, there has been one particular recurring moment which I, to date, have not been able to gain access to: the monthly general meeting. (You’re right, I also would’ve guessed that most of the other things I’ve witnessed up till now, would be harder to gain access to than a seemingly straightforward meeting…) But thinking deeper, obviously there must be a reason: I can just picture all ranking family members being in the same room at the same time, for one,... Read the Rest →
I arrive early. I’ve hitched a ride with two young recruits who will be trained here. I have no idea where we are, other than that we are at the beach somewhere, several hours away from Tokyo. We park the car and head on to the compound. It’s a regular little seaside town, and the place we’re staying in is a traditional Japanese guest house. We walk up to the late Miyamoto-san, who is in charge of the annual organization, and greet him. He’s going over the daily routine together... Read the Rest →
I’m exhausted, waiting at the entrance of the tiny bath house at the golf course near Narita, hoping to get in. — A couple of hours earlier, while we’re teeing off, Soichiro tells me that playing golf is a good way to really really get to know someone. It’s also one of the first things that Japanese businessmen do, and many business deals in japan are started, if not made, during a game of golf. I feel ever so slightly uneasy knowing that i am, in part, being “measured up”... Read the Rest →
So my book dummy arrived last week. yay :-) It’s kind of funny to notice the different “feels” a particular image has, depending on which medium, or in which circumstance, you view it. Heck even my mood makes me thoroughly dislike an image I’ve loved five minutes before. And vice versa. And this goes on all the time… Being able to delete at the touch of a button is NOT a good thing at these moments :-/ I guess it’s kind of logical that the above is true. but the... Read the Rest →
Bright day. Early morning. A commemoration is to be held for a deceased family member. The family is in charge of organizing the service. Before dawn, they set up a room with a white shrine and flowers… the family name as well as the person’s own name is displayed above. Guests and other families have been invited, and by sunrise they are slowly starting to arrive in order to pay their respects. To welcome them, the family of the deceased lines up alongside the room according to hierarchy, Yamamoto Kaicho... Read the Rest →
Meet Taka-san. He is a great friend and my fixer for the Yakuza project entitled “Odo Yakuza Tokyo“. He runs a tiny bar in the heart of Kabukicho in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Taka’s bar is totally unique. Even in comparison with the area Golden Gai, plastered with hundreds of cool little bars in as many styles, that seat a maximum of about 12, Taka’s bar only has room for 4. His bar is literally a big box in which you can’t even stand upright. No running water, no fridge… just a... Read the Rest →
When i was in Mexico in the fall of 2008, during the Day of the Dead festivities in Oaxaca, i made the first image of was to become a life long project. I knew when i had made the image, that something had happened. But i needed long talks with family and friends to be able to put my finger on what it meant exactly… David, being in Mexico as well, was the first i could talk to. At the time i had no clue how my developing visual language... Read the Rest →
